Welcome to Spanish for Successful Communication in Healthcare Settings! This course is structured in four modules, each one revolving on a topic related to the physician-patient interaction. Each module contains four lessons; on grammar, vocabulary, the dynamics of the spoken interaction, and aspects of sociocultural relevance. The video lessons are unlike regular “lectures” in which you are just listening. Instead, you should think of them as virtual classes where you are supposed to reflect, complete activities, and even get extra practice on your own time. The videos are a roadmap that will provide what you need to complete the activities on the student handout. Each module is followed by a 10-question quiz. It is important that you complete the lessons sequentially, as they build upon each other.

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Solving Communication Difficulties

In this module, we will focus on identifying and solving frequent obstacles that arise in conversation. We will start by looking into different uses of pronouns, the words that can replace nouns in a sentence avoiding unnecessary repetition. In particular, we will focus on personal pronouns. As you will see, pronouns are used to refer to something or someone already mentioned elsewhere and, when used correctly, they prevent misunderstandings. Certainly, pronouns make communication both more efficient and effective. In this module, you will expand your vocabulary with names for some frequent diagnostic tests, and you will listen to a very interesting patient consultation. In the third lesson, we will discuss two types of obstacles that you are likely to encounter in any conversation; when you don’t understand your interlocutor completely, and when your interlocutor seems to have a hard time understanding you. Next, you will learn different strategies you can use to remediate both situations. We will conclude the module by noticing cues in conversation that will help you identify the sociocultural and socioeconomic profile of your patient. The goal of this lesson is to make you aware of the role that these variables play in every interaction and to give you tools to react appropriately to the information you are given.